Where did David Copperfield, the most famous illusionist on the planet, disappear to

The peak of popularity of the American illusionist David Copperfield was in the 90s. It was hard to find a person who had not heard his name, which became a household name. And in the "noughties" he disappeared, as a magician should — he simply disappeared and stopped appearing in the show and in public. On September 16, the legendary magician turns 66, but it will not be easy to congratulate him — David has been avoiding fans and journalists for many years. Where did he go and how did his life turn out after the sunset of his career?

David Seth Kotkin (David Seth Kotkin), which is the real name of our hero, was born in 1956 in the most ordinary American family in New Jersey. The love of miracles was instilled in him by his grandfather, who showed his inquisitive grandson several simple card tricks and their exposure.

By the way, the illusionist's grandfather was an Odessa Jew who emigrated to the United States with his wife, away from the "tricks" of the Soviet government.  David was so impressed by the dexterity of his grandfather's hands that he firmly decided to become a great magician and plunged into the world of illusions and tricks. The school years of the future star were spent in constant searches, experiments and performances in front of classmates and relatives.

At the age of 12, David became a professional illusionist, the youngest in the history of the United States — he was accepted into the American community of magicians. Already at the age of 16, David teaches magic to university students in New York and simultaneously studies at Fordham University.

During his student years, the magician almost changed his profession — he so successfully played the main role in the musical "The Wizard" that he was prophesied an acting career. But the vocation turned out to be stronger — in 1974, David Kotkin disappeared, and the magician and magician David Copperfield appeared instead. The artist's pseudonym was the name of one of his favorite Dickens characters.

In the 80s, Copperfield became world famous. He was not like other illusionists — his tricks were amazing in scope and incredible complexity. David escaped from the most secure US prison Alcatraz, walked through the Great Wall of China, flew over the Grand Canyon, stole the Statue of Liberty. The audience was delighted, and the money flowed like a river.

In the early 90s, his team employed more than 300 specialists who helped David create magic. All of them were bound by strict contracts and had no right to even stutter about the "kitchen" in which incredible miracles were being prepared. The popularity of his show was fantastic. Copperfield even got into the Guinness Book of Records, selling the largest number of tickets in the world for his performance. In total, during his career, he earned $ 4 billion (about 300 billion rubles).

In 1993, a young and very successful German model Claudia Schiffer began to appear next to David. They were considered a married couple until 1999, until the celebrities broke up and the first unpleasant story related to Copperfield surfaced. There was information that the marriage was just a PR move, and Schiffer was just working out a contract.

After that, Copperfield connected his life with models twice more, children were born in marriages, but everything ended in divorce. In addition, the illusionist became a person involved in a harassment case — he was sued by a former "Miss Washington", who allegedly suffered from a loving magician in a hotel in the Bahamas. Then the case fell apart and David's reputation was not tarnished.

Copperfield enjoyed money, fame and the company of beauties, but his time was running out. In the "noughties" interest in his magic shows plummeted, and tricks began to be exposed one by one. The illusionist could no longer assemble stadiums and his income dropped dramatically. In addition, there were many people who wanted to shake the magician's wallet and filed lawsuits against him one by one.

The most high-profile case was in 2016, when one of the 13 volunteers who "disappeared" during the show, Gwen Cox, said that he received a serious injury during the performance. He wanted a considerable sum, and in order to fend off the plaintiff and his lawyers, Copperfield himself exposed his trick. It turned out that the volunteers left the hall through specially equipped dark corridors accompanied by assistants. It was there, in the dark, that Gwen Cox injured her hand and received a concussion.

Copperfield was declared innocent and compensation with six zeros did not have to be paid. But this, still fabulously rich, did not bother him much. Much worse was the fact that the trial and exposure destroyed the remnants of the mystical halo that still somehow remained around the famous illusionist.

The artist decided to completely quit his career, since he had capital and great opportunities. Copperfield invested hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate and began to live for pleasure with his next wife, of course, model Chloe Glossin. She is 31 years younger than her husband and, according to rumors, gave him a daughter in 2011.

The life of a great magician is shrouded in mystery. Some say that he lives for his own pleasure in a four-story guarded penthouse in the center of New York, others say that the artist found peace on a private island in the Bahamas in a luxurious bungalow by the ocean. One thing is for sure that the 65-year-old hero of the day is doing well, because he earned money for several lifetimes ahead, but he never complained about his health.